Fresh, Local and Wild

It’s said that three can be a crowd. In the case of Wild Sage American Bistro owners David Wells and Tom Sciortino, and consulting partner Gare Traeger, the trio is like one of the restaurant’s award-winning entrées: a perfect blend of first-rate ingredients which complements and showcases the others. “Like a three-legged table is the most stable, a tripod of ownership is really a great support system in a business,” said Traeger. “Having partners as committed as you are really gives you the ability to exhale, and know that everything is going to be OK.” Things have been more than OK for the downtown Spokane restaurant with a focus on fresh, local ingredients since its opening in March 2006. In addition to receiving Best Fine Dining honors from Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living for the past three years, Wild Sage is also a two-time winner of the Full Service Restaurant of the Year award from the Washington Restaurant Association. It has also received numerous other accolades from peers and patrons. “We have very loyal customers,” said Wells. “During the [Second Avenue] construction, they made it a point to come in just to make sure we were OK, that we weren’t going out of business.” Along with the literal upheaval outside their front door last year, they were also impacted by the topsy-turvy economy, which in an industry with small profit margins, could have been a deal-breaker. However, the trio just got smarter. They discontinued lunch hours and cut down ingredients in some dishes. Traeger also credits Wells, his life partner of 27 years, with being “phenomenal with managing money.” “You’ve got to know the business side of things in this industry, or you’re not going to make it,” said Wells. Wells also uses his extensive bar and liquor experience to keep one of the few scratch bars around fresh and interesting with new, creative drink specials such as the “Harvest Moon” made from Chopin potato vodka, fresh carrot juice, Tuaca fresh lime juice and clove syrup. Also always changing is the menu, which is guided by Traeger’s interest in gardening and his background of growing up on a farm. Wild Sage consistently focuses on fresh ingredients from local farmers. The base menu stays about 80 percent the same, with the preparation of the items changing depending on what’s coming in that week. “Organic isn’t as important to me as having a relationship with the farmer,” said Traeger. “That’s what brings our chefs and servers a story about the food they’re serving, who then share it with our guests, and that‘s really important to the guests and to us.” Also important to Wells, Sciortino and Traeger is that guests feel at home when they dine. When renovating the building in 2006-07, they did the finish work themselves, with help from family and friends, in order to get the richness of the interior space they envisioned. “We all love to entertain, and we wanted that same feeling of walking into someone’s living room and being taken care of,” said Traeger. Front-of-the-house expert Sciortino welcomes guests with his “amazing ability to schmooze,” says Traeger. He also brings extensive wine experience from his 16 years with Restaurants Unlimited, the company which brought him to Spokane from Seattle as general manager of Clinkerdagger’s in 2001. It was shortly after arriving when he met Wells and Traeger through a mutual friend. “We all just hit it off immediately,” says Traeger. While the three partners each bring something different to the table, one thing that they all share is their passion. That, combined with attention to detail, a top-notch local menu and personable service has placed them in a niche that Wells and Traeger said was never intentional. Wild Sage American Bistro also provides catering for parties under 40 people and offers banquet services next door at the Grande Ronde Cellars in the historic Freeman Center.